The leadership of a political pressure group loyal to pioneer chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has described as “pure propaganda and mischief” that the structure had declared support for Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

In a statement to newsmen in Yola, Mustapha Ribadu, who is the leader of the group, said there was no iota of truth in the claim.

He said the entire structure of the group was intact and working on its mission of actualising the gubernatorial ambition of Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

“The news reached us at a time we were at Song Local Government for a parley with the APC chairman of the Local Government, Mr Hassan Dabutor. During the meeting, all our supporters maintained an unflinching loyalty to President Buhari’s administration and to our great party, APC.

“Membership of our movement has been growing from strength to strength while our structures across the 21 local governments of the state are intact,” he said.

Mr Ribadu said those received by Governor Fintiri at the Government House in the name of Ribadu political structure were “two of our former members who had long left us before the 2019 election, in company of known hired political mercenaries they bought.”

He said the arrowheads of the defectors were never part of the key leadership of the group.

Mustapha Ribadu recalled that the same persons organised similar move and declared decamping to the camp of the then Governor Jibrilla Bindow in December 2018.

He said the group is considering reporting them to the relevant authorities for impersonating its leadership and pulling up serial “stunts to defraud unsuspecting persons.”

He said the purported reception of the decampees by the governor was out of fear of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as a formidable political heavyweight in the state.

Mr Ribadu called on politicians in the state “to be wary of the two individuals as they have perfected the habit of moving from one politician to another using Mallam Ribadu’s name to be relevant.”

“We shall maintain our loyalty to APC and Muhammadu Buhari’s led government and will remain undaunted by this distraction.

“The ideals of our leader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu is in tandem with that of president Muhammadu Buhari which is championing the lot of the masses and ensuring a corrupt free society.

“We shall continue to work for the success of our party and that of president Muhammadu Buhari’s government, so as to consolidate the successes so far achieved,” Ribadu added